traffic. monika is off as well. howard bernstein is here. jessica doyle is back. howard starts us off with weather first. nice and quiet if you need to go anywhere, do anything, even through midday should be all right. it's going to be the afternoon into the evening where we have our problems. that's why our alert codes are yellow for today because the rain is going to be moving in. that could slow your trip to grandma's house down a little bit. >> some people are already at the malls because there are stores on the 24-hour cycle. >> what do we do? >> we should be shopping. we'll be out there soon. >> it will be midday we have some problems. north and west of town cold enough to have some snow and sleet. western maryland and west virginia. 42 by noon. could be a shower then south and west of d.c. then this afternoon looks wet. 5:00 temperature 40 with the rain. and if anybody sees any buildup on the grassy surfaces, martinsburg, winchester, the shenandoah valley, maybe north of frederick and howard county,

all the moisture still well to our south and west approaching roanoke this hour. those advisories i'm talking about, they're in the mountains till noon. we have a winter weather advisory, freezing rain. enough cold air trapped that the freezing rain advisory goes till 6:00 p.m. temperatures starting out in the mid-20s in the cold spots like manassas and call pep other. 40 at the -- culpeper. 40 at the naval academy. in frederick a cold morning, 25. it is 6:01. liz is watching not too much going on on the roads with your timesaver traffic. >> thank you, howard. i'm not watching a whole lot. it's absolutely true. when i drove into work this morning, there wasn't a lot to watch then either. a good morning. nice, light spms eve -- christmas eve holiday pace. if you are making that mad dash to the shopping centers, you do so on the main lines just final. 395 at duke street, you can see plenty of space it the cars. things are spread out. 935 coming up from fred -- 95 coming up from fredericks from

franconia springfield to the mixing bowl, all final. -- all fine. 270 right around montrose outside bethesda is where we're seeing the busiest ride which is to say it's not very busy. you'll find cars spread out there. 270 really looks good all the way out to frederick heading in towards germantown. and through through rockville and bethesda. that's your latest timesaver traffic. back to the news desk and andrea. >> thanks, liz. demonstrators marched over new york city's brooklyn bridge last night. they want tighter gun laws in the country. several hundred people are said to have participated in the march. carrying candles, they stopped in the middle ever the bridge to read the names of the children and adults killed at sandy hook elementary school in connecticut. the school shooting has prompted renewed debate about gun control. legislators and the nra stood their ground on sunday morning talk shows. jessica doyle is here with the latest. good morning, jess. >> good morning to you, andrea. of course good morning to everybody at home. we definitely are seeing the

drumbeat for tougher gun controls getting louder in the wake of course of newtown. we saw that on the sunday morning talk shows yesterday. among many other places in the wake of this tragedy, but advocates for tougher laws are running head first into gun rights lawmakers as well as the national rifle association. that's not stopping lawmakers like senator dianne feinstein of california who is vowing to renew legislation to ban certain weapons and limit the number of bullets a magazine can hold. we could see movement on this legislation as soon as next month. she has a lot of support among fellow democrats. >> trying to prevent shootings in schools without talking about guns is like trying to prevent lung cancer without talking about cigarettes. >> also on meet the press yesterday, the c.e.o. of the nra dismissed calls for an assault weapons ban or limiting ammunition. instead he is pushing for more police officers in schools. >> if it's crazy to call for

putting police and armed security in our school to protect our children, then call me crazy. i'll tell you what the american people -- i think the american people think it's crazy not to do it. >> talking about the american people, there are plenty of signs the nation is as divided on this issue as the political parties appear to be. a cbs news poll conducted after newtown found 57% of americans support tougher gun control laws. that is the strongest level of support in a decade. on the otr side of the coin, gun sales are surging. the company that calls itself the world's largest arms supplier says it sold three and a half years worth of ar-15 ammunition magazines in just three days. the nation's most popular semiautomatic rifle similar to the one used in newtown. coming up in the next 30 minutes, we're going to take a look at the proposal that we've heard from the nra to put more police officers in schools. how doable is this in the first place? >> it's amazing with all these

people buying ammunition, it's like they're preparing for a doomsday scenario which didn't happen on friday. >> we're still here. >> it's kind of ridiculous. we'll look forward to your next report. >> thank you. more than a thousand people attended a memorial service for the late hawaii senator daniel inouye. the president and first lady were among the mourners at the service. inouye represented hawaii in congress ever since it became a state in 1959. he was the second longest serving senator in u.s. history. >> to everything there's a season, a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die. you see, this was daniel inouye's time. he lived a full and productive life. >> daniel inouye was the first japanese american elected to congress. he spent 50 years in washington serving the people of hawaii. he died last week at age 88. senator michael crapo of idaho has been arrested and charged with driving under the

influence. police in alexandria, virginia pulled the senator over sunday morning for running a red light. police say crapo failed a field sobriety test. the senator issued a statement saying he was deeply sorry and would deal with whatever penalty comes his way. he says he loves christmas. that is his favorite time of the year. for the past 50 years, joseph has had the great passion of decorating his home in fairfax county to be a local must see. but this year he has decided to do something different to benefit the very special children of st. jude's children's research hospital. joining me this morning is joseph. good morning. thank you. who do you have there with you? >> good morning. how are you? >> i'm well. who is standing there with you? >> my wife who is my rock. she's responsible for all the things that i do. >> joseph and tamara, thank you

for being with us. tell us about this incredible light show and why you're doing it this year for a different reason? >> well, as you mentioned, i've been doing this for 50 years. my passion is christmas. i always bring joy to my neighbors, my friends, all of my associates, my family. for the first time i really wanted to bring joy to the children who are unfortunately who are suffering with cancer. and no better way than try to have the thousands of cars that come by my home to ask them to please donate to st. jude. as you all know, they're angels, especially what has happened in connecticut, which has broken my heart in connecticut. our children are precious. and i really plead the people that come by and enjoy this

magnificent display. in my opinion this is one of the most fabulous traditional christmas displays anybody can ever do which is my passion. if i can bring the joy that i have to those children and just put a smile on their face, it kind of breaks my heart when you see them suffering with cancer. and basically that's all i do. if i can do a little good and give back to what has been given to me by god, i would really appreciate the people who come see my home and hopefully they will donate. >> joseph, we saw someone stop right there behind you. this is an incredible display. when do you start putting it together? and it's not just outside. we see lights inside. i know there are themed rooms. >> thank you very much. i believe christmas is not just for outside. i believe christmas should also be for the inside. basically it takes two months to decorate.

i've got six little elves that help me decorate. actually it's just a joy. and i really -- it's just my passion. and i love to share my joy with other people. that's basically the type of person that we are. my wife here, to be honest, has given me a substantial amount of support and she's been great because they knows i'm a maniac at christmas. but without her, i couldn't get this done to be quite frank with you. >> joseph, thank you very much for what you're doing. we want to help you do even more for those angels that you talked about at st. jude's children's research hospital. right there on our korean is where people can -- right there on our screen is where people, if they don't come by, they can also text this number. they can make a donation to st. jude's children's hospital. if we could put that back up again. there is a text to st. jude's. we had it before. if we don't put it up again,

we'll have it on our website. we appreciate what you're doing to brighten our lives. we need it so much this time of the year and especially as you said with the events that have happened. joseph, a very merry christmas to you and a wonderful new year to you and your family. >> thank you. i would like to wish the viewers a very merry christmas. may god bless you and keep everybody safe and healthy throughout the new year. >> thank you, joseph. >> if they could please donate, i would appreciate it. thank you very much. >> hopefully we'll help you do that. thank you, joseph. have a great day. >> god bless you. thank you. at 6:10, it's time for another your money report. the stock market heads into the final trading week of the year with gridlock in washington over a new budget. stocks sank friday as the economy inches closer to the fiscal cliff. the dow down 120. the nasdaq down 29. still the stock market is on track for its fourth straight year of gains. the dow sup nearly 8%. the -- is up nearly 8%. the nasdaq has rallied more

than 15%. so far this year. the stock market is closed for christmas. more economic reports to sift through the rest of the week, including home prices and sales and consumer confidence and jobless claims. washington's failure to agree on a budget is affecting americans's confidence in finances. consumer sentiment index for december fell sharply from november's five-year high. more than one in four people surveyed cited concerns about higher taxes. before we go to break, i want to tell you again to donate to st. jude's children's hospital and help the courys' dream come true. text light at 5 -- text life to 50333 to donate $10. redskins hang on to victory over the eagles. rg3's return and his playoff implications. we'll be right back.

howard here with your weather first. going to be a raw day. rain will be developing. eight going to get moderate at times this afternoon. north and west of town cold enough for snow and sleet to

mix in. surface temperatures should remain above freezing. not expecting much more than wet streets. perhaps minor accumulations on the grassy surfaces. full details of that christmas forecast coming up in just a few minutes. traffic nice and light. more of that for you as the monk rolls along -- morning rolls along for you shortly. the american legion bridge, nice light beltway volume. not used to seeing this but these are your christmas eve conditions. that's your timesaver traffic. back to andrea. let's go to sports. >> good monday, everybody. we knew this one was going to be a tough game. any time you play an nfc east opponent, you have to buckle it up a little tighter. redskins fans, let's face t. you cannot ask for more drama than this. rg3's return and playoff implications. that was on the docket

yesterday. there's the famous brace of rg3. lcl sprain from two weeks ago. defense shelled early. guess who jeremy macklin got behind? 7-0. eagles up. redskins respond after a pick. griffin to josh morgan who wiggles his way into the love shack. washington took a 13-10 lead into the half. second half, this is perfect. griffin drops it in to santana of the watch the toe tap. awesome. griffin 16-24. 27-10 redskins. ekeles fight back. chance to tie in the final seconds. throws it away but the ball didn't make it back to the line of scrimmage. that's grounding, a penalty. ballgame. reds skins win 27-20. >> where our football team is right now, they expect to win. that's where you feel very good about the character of your guys. >> this is what we worked for. we knew if we took care of business coming out of the bye week, anything is in our hands.

we worked hard to put ourselves in this position. >> we're playing the best ball we have all year at the right time. we're rolling and we all know that. it's been a change in our mindsset -- in our mindset after the bye week. the redskins-cowboys season finale officially the sunday night game of the week. kickoff next sunday set for 8:20 p.m. that's a quick look at sports. have a great monday. have a great christmas eve, everybody. howard is here. sunday night we're looking that far ahead. >> it's going to be cold. >> going to be cold. that's okay. >> like 30s cold. >> all right. can't wait for that game. >> on sunday. >> it should be good. >> we're cold this morning, 20s and 30s to start. we have moisture on the way and cold enough well west of town in the mountains that we have a few advisories that have been posted by the national weather service. going to tell you about those in case your travels take you to west virginia or maybe western maryland. maybe you're going to ohio and

pittsburgh. i'm completely in the wrong spot on my weather computer. take a quick look at these temperatures this morning which are running in the 20s and 30s. there are the winter warnings. we've got them out well west of us there. garrett county and those areas on the west side of the divide into west virginia, freezing rain advisory. that goes until 6:00 this evening. this there will be pockets of the cold air east of the divide till about noon. winter weather advisories for a little sleet, snow and freezing rain. there could be some isolated slick spots. our day planner today, we're going to be quiet in the metro. you have plans to go anywhere, even through noon we should be in pretty good shape. might begin to see a couple showers then, 42. that will be closer to the high for the day. temperatures about 40 or so with rain and a little sleet or snow north and west mixing in. but with road temperatures expected to be in the mid- to upper 30s and air temperatures as well, not anticipating too much in the way of problems. it's all rain here kentucky through the carolinas and southwestern virginia. the moisture has been moving in

toward roanoke. see how it's lifting north into indiana? that will take a while before we see it. that's why this afternoon looks to be wet more than anything else. 29 this morning in bethesda. 25 sterling, one of our cold spots although reston is at 24. fort belvoir also down to 25. we've got 27 in college park. outside on our michael & son weather camera, great visibility under mostly cloudy skies. 33 and winds. most folks have light winds this morning. satellite and radar, let me show you the temps first. bismarck 13 below. a bunch of cold coming in. national in the 40s. got a storm system coming out of the tennessee valley. there's your rain this morning. see how it's lifting to the north here? this moisture? that will be what we see for the afternoon. again mainly wet. some areas well north and west of town may see a grassy buildup. we're talking winchester to perhaps into northern frederick county. chilly today. a little bit of snow or sleet mixing in. the rain will end by midnight. areas of fog tonight down in the 30s. isolated slick spot. tomorrow 48 with a mix of

clouds and sun. so a nice christmas day. wednesday rain and wind return, 46. may start as a little wintry mix west of town wednesday morning. thursday and friday dry. another system saturday may start as rain and finish as snow into sunday and cold sunday night for that redskins game. 6:20. liz drabick is in now with timesaver traffic. thanks so much. not a whole lot going on with timesaver traffic. christmas eve volumes nice and light. we have prime evidence of this as we take a look at 395. the ride to virginia is an easy one. no problems out of springfield towards alexandria. going to find a smooth trip heading into arlington. no problems on your 14th street bridge approach. everything is all quiet. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

howard here with your weather first. 6:23 on this cold, quiet christmas eve morning. mostly cloudy skies now but we'll see the clouds thicken up as we go through the morning

hours. by this afternoon wet weather moving in. here's a look at the day planner with temperatures climbing into the mid-30s by 9:00. by 11:00 41. the high today 42, 43 with a better chance of rain after the noon hour and north and northwest of town, that rain is going to mix with some snow and sleet. don't expect any problems until you head out into the mountains where there are some advisories but it may be some pretty wintry scenes just to get you in the mood. andrea? ben afleck is an actor, a director and an activist, but is he ready to add politician to his resume? here's what afleck told cbs's "nation the nation" when asked if he was interested in john kerry's senate seat from massachusetts. >> i do have a great fondness and admiration for the political process in this country. a big deal for me to come down and be on your show. i've watched so much but i'm not going to get into speculation about my political future. >> but he didn't rule out a future run. >> he was in washington

testifying on capitol hill about the ongoing crisis in the democratic republic of congo. the sandy hook elementary school shootings have pushed debate over gun control to the forefront of the nation's consciousness. we'll have more on that story. >> liz, how is traffic looking? still light? >> yes. good morning. good christmas eve morning. traffic nice and light. there's 395 at duke street to show you exactly that. more coming up shortly. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. it's 6:29 on this christmas eve. this is always the place to get your weather first. here's a live look at the beautiful jefferson memorial. you can see that the temperature is 33 degrees. just a hair above freezing. thank you for starting your day with us. i'm andrea roane. mike hydeck is off. meteorologist howard bernstein

is here. he's live on the weather terrace terrace. >> i've got the gloves on, middle weight gloves. winds are very light. if it was windier, i would have the ear must haves -- ear muffs on as well. many of the suburbs down in the middle 20s. a cold morning. generally a cloudy day with a few problems this morning. far more problems for the afternoon. looking at the day planner, we have quiet, in fact mostly cloudy skies this morning. we'll see a few breaks early. by noon could be a shower south and west of d.c., 42. this afternoon looks wet and 40 by 5:00. northwest and north of d.c., we're looking at the thrept of some wet -- threat of some wet snow or sleet mixing in. but with temperatures above freezing, roads stay mainly wet. a couple of breaks in the clouds now but it's starting to thicken up south and west of town with rain moving into roanoke. watch out for some pockets of sleet and freezing rain through

noon east of the divide. through 6:00 west of the divide where freezing rain advisories have been posted. the temps this morning down to 23 in manassas. 25 frederick. 28 la plata and baltimore and here in town we sit at 33. i'll be back in a few minutes. i'll have the seven-day forecast and more storm systems, two more before the week is out. right now here's liz drabick with timesaver traffic. thanks so much. sounds or rather looks like the commute is cooperating. no problems to report. main lines are clear. even the beltway. we'll start by taking a look at 270 around montrose. this is the heaviest volume we're seeing around the area this morning. it's nice and light. cars are pretty well spread out. you're making a fine time. frosty conditions so you may have a little too scrape off the windshield but it's not like it's impacting the roadways. we want to take a look at the beltway. normally volume is pretty well filled in along the outer loop making the trip off 95 heading towards new hampshire. we're seeing volume return nice and light as you make that

college park trip heading towards bethesda. no problems moving toward the 270 spur, that direction. and towards the american legion bridge, you'll find plenty of space it the cars. 95 in virginia, you're looking good on the ride around the mixing bowl. traffic slowing freely coming from fredericksburg. looks good all the way to 395 through alexandria towards arlington. nothing to trip you up at the 14th street bridge. if you're making your way downtown, check out the christmas lights, maybe do some early morning shopping, nothing to worry about as you do that. 95 bringing that in from maryland, it's an easy enough ride as you scoot down out of columbia through howard county into laurel. you can meet the beltway with these. no problems at a to talk about. -- at 50 to talk about. everything looks good and also the main span at the bridge. >> we like the all clear. thank you. it's 6:32. time to see what our partners at cbs this morning are covering.

we usually see rebecca jarvis on cbs this morning saturday. she is in the anchor chair this morning from new york. good morning, rebecca. happy holidays to you. >> good morning. happy holidays, andrea. this is my gift to be able to be here this week. coming up the nra's controversial call for armed guards at schools. we'll talk with former congressman and nra consultant asa hutchinson. and some real christmas cheer for nearly 2,000 people who just hit the jackpot in the world's richest lottery. a nice stocking stuffer. see you at 7:00. >> we'll have to start playing the lottery. merry christmas again. they're talking about it and so, too, are we. the debate on how to prevent a tragedy like the newtown shootings is heating up. despite vehement criticism, the national rifle association made it clear it is not backing down from its opposition to any new gun laws. jessica doyle is here with the latest on local protests and

where this debate is going. we hear this all the time after major tragedies and we're hoping something happens different this time. >> in terms of the local protests, what we're seeing, it's the debate of course we'll see congress confront when it comes back into session in the new year. the local protests were led by a bishop for a catholic diocese and they centered on a firearms dealer in falls church, basically calling for tougher gun control laws. at the same time the chief instructor for firearms at nova firearms says no way to new laws. he said law abiding americans should be allowed to carry virtually any gun they please. as for the american people, poll numbers show kind of equally divided on this issue. 57% of americans support tougher gun control laws. definitely an edge but not consensus on this issue. >> listening to the talk shows yesterday and mainly from the point of view of the nra, they were talking about americans also definitely want our schools to be protected and they're talking about putting

armed guards, good guys with guns in schools. just how doable is this when we can't even pay for more teachers? >> asa hutchinson as we just heard is going to be on cbs this morning. he's the point person, former congressman from arkansas. he now works for the nra. he says this program would cost $2 billion to implement in the united states. our partners over at "u.s.a. today" have crunched the numbers. they say that 70% of schools in america currently don't have any police officers on the premises. 60% don't have any security officers at all in the situation. so that's a big change that would have to happen. there may not be the political capital there for republicans who tend to align themselves with the nra, even republicans like governor chris newkumetty from new jersey -- chris christie from new jersey are questioning the wisdom of putting more guns in school. >> the nra says this is what happens in israel and there haven't been any gun shootings in schools -- reductions. i've been there and there are

guards outside every hotel. there were guards mobilizing around the boarder with syria. they're a nation with warring factions. this is what's not happening in this country. >> it's interesting. we saw the c.e.o. of the nra on meet the press say put more guns if school, more police officers in schools like israel has and you won't see a school shooting. israel actually came out with public statements after this. they said we beg to differ. we never had a school shooting problem in our country the way do you in your country. we have a terrorism problem. the reasonable we stopped shootings is -- the reason we stopped shootings is because we tightened our antiterror policy and tightened our gun control laws in exactly the opposite way being subjected by the nra. >> the nra picked out one little nugget that benefits their belief. >> appears to be. >> thank you. changing gears a major winter storm on sunday was dumping snow, steady rain and snow on northern california. it could strengthen as it makes its way east promising a white christmas for some and travel

headaches for others for a wide swath of the country. the storm will deposit snow from california's sierra mountains to new england through friday morning. forecasters have said. we'll hear what howard has to say later on. his home displays a dazzling 200,000 led lights meticulously strung over his hope. a family tradition for joseph koury and his -- coury and his family. this year has special meaning. joining us again is joseph coury and his wife. he's talking about a special initiative with st. jude's children's hospital. i'm not sure they can hear them. we've lost them. we'll come right back to them in a little while. new research shows excessive protein in the brain may be linked to autistic like behavior including impaired communication and diminished social interaction. doctors at the university of california san francisco believe the finding could eventually lead to drug therapy that treats autism spectrum disorders known as asd. kids with food allergies

have another challenge during lunch time. a new study shows almost a third of children with allergies are bullied at school and many of their parents don't even realize their kids are being teased. health experts are recommending -- asking children with allergies if other classmates are bothering them. researchers in belgium have a new strategy for fighting obesity. they're trying to better understand taste sensors in the stomach. the sensors respond to excess food intake and it's believed their malfunction contributes to obesity and diabetes. the goal is to pinpoint which sensors might be effective drug targets. a fairly small disturbance bringing us some rain showers this afternoon into the evening hours and we're lucky, though, that precipitation is arriving after some daytime heating. when we return, howard will have your forecast first. we'll be right back.

welcome back to 9news. it is 6:43. howard is here with our forecast. good if you're getting ready to head out to the stores that are already open for some of those last-minute deals, shopping for toys or food. but later on today? >> this afternoon especially into the evening hours, that's when our worst weather is going to be in the form of mainly rain. there could be sleet or snow mixing in. areas northwest of town. no advisories. whatever does fall should be melting on contact as temperatures north and northwest will be in the 30s. we'll top out in the low 40s. we do have some advisories well west of town. we're watching those into the mountains. we've got a winter weather advisory in purple and pink. that is a freezing rain advisory west of the divide. that goes till 6:00. the winter weather advisory east goes until noon as there could be some pockets of cold air, enough anyway to support some sleet or freezing rain for a little while. watching some moisture which is now moving in from the west and southwest. by the way, looks like the rain

will be here in the afternoon. we'll be good this morning. by noon 42, 43. maybe a shower south and west about the high for the day. by 5:00 we are wet and 40 degrees. there's the rain this morning coming toward the roanoke area. back almost toward indianapolis. this is all moving in our direction. the heaviest stuff, that's been down in north carolina just now starting to straddle the virginia, north carolina border. your temperatures this morning, you'll need to bundle up with low to mid-20s across many areas to our west and culpeper, up toward winchester and cross junction. 27 this morning. heard from bill a little while ago, 29 down in newland with 34 in easton. in prince frederick, some frost outside and temps in the low 30s. look at this michael & son weather camera. a beautiful looking predawn sky looking toward the east this morning. that's a pretty picture there. we have some breaks in the cloud cover obviously. 33 degrees at national. feeling like 33 and the winds are light now but they'll be picking up a little bit.

by wednesday and thursday, the winds are really going to pick up. here's the big picture. we have the storm system coming in from the tennessee valley. the heavy stuff mainly along i- 40 corridor but starting to lift north and east. we could get into moderate rains at times later this afternoon into the early part of the evening. the clouds, they're going to thicken up as we head toward midday with the showers arriving more than likely after lunch time. notice out to the west, the pink, the blue, that's a mix of snow and sleet and maybe a pocket of freezing rain. don't know if we're going to have this much snow this close by 4:00, but even if we do, temperatures here will be in the mid-30s to upper 30s. so surface temperatures too warm to support much more than just melting. by 8:00 most of the moisture is pulling away from us leaving us a quiet overnight. just maybe a little foggy in spots. 43 today the afternoon rain and mix. tonight down in the 30s. isolated slick spot, areas of fog. tomorrow 43. wednesday another yellow alert. so today and wednesday, yellow alert days with the rain and the wind, 46. maybe seeing a little bit of

snow at the onset wednesday west of town. thursday and friday quiet but by saturday and sunday rain. perhaps changing to snow before ending saturday night into sunday morning. 6:46. let's check with liz drabick and let you know if there's anything to worry about in timesaver traffic. no, not a thing. the commute nice and light. we can take a look at the cameras at 395 at duke street around alexandria. that's the busiest we've seen it all morning. it's probably the busiest we will see it all morning. the carve yacht being this will be -- caveat being this will be until everybody wakes up and goes to their holiday plans and doing some morning shopping. let's take a look at maryland cameras. normally the outer loop at new hampshire avenue has back-to- back traffic right around this time. but it's not a typical day. you have a christmas eve pace. looking at the camera right there, practically empty as you make your way through college park towards bethesda. so there's nothing to worry about for your trip over there. that's your latest timesaver

traffic. back to andrea. >> thank you. as we've been telling you all morning, his home displays a dazzling 200,000 led lights over his entire home. a family tradition for joseph coury. this year it has a special meaning for him and his family. janning me is joseph coury talking about a special initiative for st. jude children's hospital. he's joined by his lovely wife. thank you for being here with us. we're at the front or the back of the house? can we see that? what are we seeing right now? >> basically this is my favorite part of my home, believe it or not. this is where we enjoy most of our time. we toast marshmallows on our fire pit and we sing christmas carols with me an the family during the holiday season. it's just a beautiful, beautiful feeling and just to sit down and relax and stair at the beautiful scenery is what

we really enjoy. it's just something that's very special. >> it is a true winter wonderland take you're creating for everyone to enjoy but you're doing it for a very special reason this year to benefit st. jude children's hospital. what is your goal, joseph, and how much you have raised so far? >> well, my goal is $25,000. as of this morning, we are at $14,000. so we're getting close. we're over 50% there. and may god willing i think we are going to reach our goal with the help of your viewers. that's all we ask is please look around you, thank god, all of our children and grandchildren are healthy. but for those unfortunate children who are suffering from cancer, just look into their eyes and it breaks your heart. if i can put a smile on their face and ask everybody to -- then joys my site, that enjoys

this, if they could please text "life" to 50333, we would appreciate t. it's only a $10 donation. it would be for a great cause. >> this is an absolutely spectacular display. you told us before that it takes you about two months to put this all together. it's 200,000 led lights so i guess that takes a bite out of your wallet as far as the electric bill. >> that's correct. prior to the invention of the led, my light bill used to be $2,000 a month. now my light bill is only -- my light bill is only $200 extra a month, even though i've got 200,000 led. so it's a great invention to be quite honest. it's a decorator's dream. my neighbors love what i do. one of the neighbors called me

the other day. he had a very bad day at work. and as soon as he turns into the neighborhood, his bad day turned interest a great day. he put -- into a great day. it put a big smile on his face. he called me and said thank you for doing what you're doing. my neighbors really enjoy it a lot and i'm appreciative. >> we appreciate you doing this for us and also for the children at st. jude's children's research hospital. we couldn't speak with your wife because she's not miked but we're happy she would join us and show off her beautiful home. again, if you would like to help joseph reach his goal of $25,000 or perhaps go over, text "life" to 50333 to donate $10 or you can go online at fundraising.stjude.org. >> how long will the lights be illuminated? >> through he piff any january

6 -- epiphany january 6. all your viewers are welcome to come by. >> it's a beautiful display for a fantastic cause truly in the christmas season -- spirit of giving. 25% of us burn ourselves with this. is it a curling iron, flatiron, a slice of pizza or the stove. >> one viewer said c, itself stove. we -- the stove. we haven't learned that childhood lesson but the real lesson we need to learn is don't eat the hot pizza. the correct answer is b. we'll be right back.

welcome back. 6:54. look at this beautiful picture we have of the capitol. it's so pretty. we have temperatures climbing today into the low 40s by noon. dry this morning but wet this afternoon. even snow and sleet mixing in north and northwest of town with highs in the low 40s. andrea? in news before you go, let's go to jess. >> topping the news, of course the gun control debate getting louder across the nation. boat sides took to the sunsdz talk shows -- sunday talk shows yesterday. among the major guests, the held of the nra. he says he wants more guns in schools. the head of the nra was saying basically he wants a trained security guard or police officer placed in schools. the cost of that program would be as much as $2 billion for the nation to implement it. unclear where the nation would even find that money if congress were to go along with it. andrea? >> thank you. it is 6:55. one final check of weather and traffic when we return.

welcome back. 6:58. temperatures in the low 40s with a chance of rain this afternoon. maybe a mix west and north west of town. tomorrow is going to abbetter day, in the -- to be a better day, in the upper 40s for christmas. wednesday back in the mid-40s with rain and wind.

another system this weekend could give us another bout of rain and snow. let's check in with liz drabick. she has one last look at timesaver traffic. thanks so much. quiet christmas eve traffic. not a whole lot of volume. you may find some gathering around the shopping centers. below rockville cars are moving at smelled as they are throughout most of the area. that's your latest look at timesaver traffic. back to you. >> thank you. no wall street to worry about. they're just on a light day today. >> closed tomorrow good closed tomorrow. next on cbs this morning, dreaming after white christmas? if you're in the northeast, you may be out of luck or maybe not. >> some areas of the country really are going to get pounded over the next few days. i'll be back in the next 25 minutes with a live update on the weather forecast. don't forget to visit us at wusa9.com. we wish everyone a merry christmas. we'll be enjoying the holiday tomorrow. we want to leave you with the coury home.